Making space for blessings, wishes...

December 1st we start to dance in the magic of the holiday and spend time with magic, blessings, ritual, letters from the heart, soulwork, reindeer (or bird) magical food, handmade stars, the beautiful smells of pie and more sprinklings of joy.

Join me along with members of the joy tribe on Thursday, November 29th at 8:30 pm Eastern Time as we kick off the Holiday Joy Up with words, meditation, stories of past joy ups and the inspiration for stepping into the Holiday with softness.

I've had a little thought playing in my head of joining some of the voices of the joy tribe together in this way and when I asked them, there was a resounding yes. Grab your eggnog and candy canes and meet us virtually from your cozy house in your jammies as we ring in the joy.

Yes, there will be magic.

Highly Sensitive Style (how I get dressed)

When I made my 2012 vision board on the February New Moon this picture of the woman in a gray sequined tunic with a black jacket standing under my word for the year, magic, was my focus. The essence of this picture, a woman standing in her power, shining, stepping into the light was the image I was manifesting. I also was learning that comfort as an HSP while feeling like I could claim my own style were not exclusive. I wanted this jacket and this sequined top, they just had to feel right on my body.

As a highly sensitive person much of my getting dressed is like a kid who can't stand the feeling of the hem on their sock. My clothes must feel right or they stay in the closet, unworn, often with tags still on.

I found my sequin top at TJ Maxx I think. I had been searching for one where you couldn't feel the sequins and that was long enough to act as a tunic. I love this shirt. It is gray, one of the 5 colors I wear. It sparkles. When I wear it I feel magic. Style to me is about a feeling. How do you want to feel when you climb into your clothes? As an HSP, comfort is at the top of that list, but it is more than comfort. To me it is like the difference between feeling like you are too hot or too cold, it is like stepping into that perfect temperature.

This year I've been quietly shopping in a new way. I love handmade items from Etsy. I love materials that are so soft you barely feel them. I am spending more for one item because I don't wear many items. I've also been releasing things. Releasing all the jeans that don't fit. Releasing anything that is a color I won't wear even if it is gorgeous. If I won't wear it, why is it hanging in my closet?

This also means releasing stories of guilt around spending money on so many things that I don't use. This is the hardest thing to release, each time I fill a bag with donation I remind myself that I am just getting to know myself even deeper. That this release is about coming home, but usually the guilt tries hard to stop me and keep the piles of unworn clothes in the drawer.

I found three essential things for my day as a mama and work at home entrepreneur: jeans, leggings and yoga pants. All three of these things can go from a snuggle on the couch to a tea date with a friend to walking the dog or sitting on the computer writing. I tried every jean and then I finally found the them. The ones. They feel like butter, the stretch just enough and my belly fits them. Love.

Layers have always been key to my HSP. Often the layers act as a shield when I'm in the world or feeling vulnerable. A scarf seems to balance me, ground me and once I discovered infinity scarves I was in my joy. Infinity scarves mean no tying or falling off or having to readjust. You just loop it on and go. More love.

In college I wore a lot of jewelry, in layers. Jewelery again must be soft, no itching and I try to find stones and metals that work with my energy. Just like the layers, they seem to ground me, to root my energy. A bonus is that many artists on Etsy are aware of this and help you choose your stones and colors through the descriptions they write.

Not long ago I realized that I only feel like myself if I wear certain colors. Neutrals really, whites, mochas or gold, gray and black or navy occasionally. I would buy gorgeous tops that sparkled of jewel tones and they would sit in my closet or I would wear them for 2 hours and then run back and grab my mocha shirt.

I remember once buying this beautiful purple tunic. Even as I was standing in line I could hear this little voice that had yet been fully acknowledged saying, you won't wear this, you won't wear this. I tried a few times to put it on and never made it out of the house. It was a little itchy and well, purple!!!

The moment I take off the shirt that feels wrong and climb inside of 'my colors' I can feel my body relax, melt. Perhaps some of my OCD is mixed into this, I don't know why this is, yet now when you look in my closet, you will not see the rainbow, you'll see the sand, the seashells, the clouds. You see me.

You will also see the birds. Feather earrings and my sparrow tattoo are part of this HSP style. They feel like me. This is what Highly Sensitive Style is, creating a wardrobe that feels like you, clothes that you climb into and come alive in your own version of shining. Clothes that not only make you look beautiful but that help you to feel beautiful. The gorgeous life, wearing things that make us more us.

As I create my vision board in 2013 I will find an image that captures the essence of the woman I continue to grow into. I love letting her find her light and giving her the gift of knowing who she is, in style, thoughts and visions.

Here is a list of style that I love, most I own, some I just adore.

This was the shirt that started it all. I love oversized shirts that hide my belly and I've always adored off the shoulder slouchy style. I'm sort of still in the 90's I think, jean jackets and off the shoulder shirts. Bring it!

Loving this, look at that color...that is my color. My HSP also really likes sleeves that are loose and then fitted at the bottom. I love being able to place the sleeve where I want it and it stays there!

I found this shirt and the color was whispering to me, come lay in the sand, take off your shoes and let's play.

Finally I found jeans that I feel joyful in. They don't feel like leggings, let's be real, but they are buttery and stretchy and I love them. I spent way more than this on the numerous jeans that I never wear because they don't feel good on me. I'm so happy to be done with that.

I can't find the leggings I own, but these look yummy! While I don't own these I've had them in my Etsy shopping cart!

All I can say is that this jacket is my favorite thing. It is soft, feels almost like a sweater and looks so beautiful on. My daughter tries to steal it daily, she may need one for Christmas!

I find all my yoga pants at TJ Maxx and usually I get Green Apple. They are long enough for my long legs, the material is gorgeous and I feel really sexy in them. Yes, sexy in yoga pants. This is a priority of mine.

I adore boots with heels and again, spent lots of money on shoes that don't feel good. I can walk the dog in these, stand in them for hours and they are heaven.

My feather earrings are no longer for sale but browsing through Etsy you'll find gorgeous feathers, like these.

Natural elements and animal energy has become vital for me, I adore this.

My favorite infinity scarf with shimmer is no longer for sale, I'd buy 12 of them if it was. I found something like it but I've never touched this one so don't know how it feels.

A stretchy and chunky belt is my new favorite thing. It helps me create some shape and not feel so self conscious about those things they call 'love handles!' I don't have this one but a similar one.

***

What I most want you to know is that finding your style is about the inner and outer expression of you. It is the telling of your story through the image you put on and bring to the world. Your style is a blend of your visions, feelings and comforts.

Feel gorgeous, be gorgeous.

***

More musings on HSP...

HSP That's Me

Tales of an HSP

Highly Sensitive Packing

Highly Sensitive Unpacking

Beautiful Faces. Magical Places.

I am eager for the lists that make their way out on sleepy Friday mornings. Today I am a Target for twinkle lights, hoping that isn't pink eye on the little one, craving Chloe's soup, trying not to push, looking forward to tomorrow and breakfast out kind of mama.

These are my pay-it-forward lists.

I am totally going to try to play with this way of being with my daughter.

I'm shifting how I am spending my energy so that I am in filling up mode rather than depleting. This from Sas says it all.

Abraham is my secret weapon. Like for reals.

Let's all make one shall we? My kids and I are so on it.

 In. Love.

Comfort zones are huge for me, thinking I will brave taking pictures when we go out for breakfast tomorrow.

People often think part of my work is about self-care. I rarely use those words because if you looked at my life you would see very little of this classic 'self-care.' I follow my passion, I stay up late creating and get burned out, I let my eyebrows go to long without plucking and I think about getting a massage all the time. For me it is compassion. For myself and others. Bam.

The message on this gorgeous piece is what I want you all to know, to remind yourselves. A gift to the soul, she needs to know.

Just got this from one of the gorgeous women in Community Grace. I love, love, love. Been playing with scents as I am sensitive but often crave just the lightest truth from the oils.

Chloe and I both have moon calendars in our rooms. I love that so young she is already understanding new moon energy and full moon madness!

A blessing for battle.

 

You are beauty. You are grace. You are love.

You are not the voices that tell you that you are fat or unloved or without. Broken.

You are joy unfolding.

You are not lacking. You are not them. You are not wrong.

You are perfectly imperfect and passionate beyond your own knowing.

Open yourself. Surrender to that feeling defining you. You are safe.

You are beauty. You are grace. You are love.

Forgive yourself for one moment and feel the gorgeous reality that you are so OK.

Release into your flow that is your dance through this year and into the next.

Send the sparks of desire, the waves of delight and the echo of your dreams into this day. And into this
night.

This is your blessing. A blessing to carry into battle.

You are beauty. You are grace. You are love.

To Feast

I spread out the tablecloth,
slip off my shoes and feast on preparation.

There is a dance that I do when I’m not moving.
I dream the dance, know the dance.

Can I say yes to the beauty and inspiration without pause?
Feast on my life.

I look down and see the first tattoo on my arm,
bird in flight,
joy in her eye.
Feathers found calling me forth towards abundance.
I feel the leather I curl onto,
the cotton comforter I bury under,
the fear I face as I move into my next dream.

Joy arises even as my tears fall and my body flares in pain.
Time. Passing, flowing, fighting, slowing, wanting, moving.
I let my pelvis ground me, holding, releasing, pushing, pulling.
Sensual space and divine trust.

Simplicity of habit
and that moment
when you know in your spirit that you won’t do that.

You won’t settle, you won’t allow.
Can I say the words that scare me but I must. Now.
To ease into divine pleasure.
I glue my list of dreams,
colorful and life alteringly scary-wonderful.

I vision. I accept that it feels like this now.
A knowing that I can shift those feelings, now.
Can I release and flow into my magic. My joy. My yes.

There is a feast in my spirit each time I find a feather where I never saw a bird.

***

Many months ago I set a very strong intention to manifest. I wrote that I wanted to be invited to teach at a retreat where I could wear my yoga pants. To me this meant being invited to teach places where I could be myself.

Many weeks ago Liz sent me an email about the possibility of teaching at a retreat that she was dreaming of, focused on joy and feasting on our lives. I learned to manifest by finding feathers. I would focus on them, feel their beauty, see them in mind's eye.

The retreat will be a true feast, of the senses and at the table we will share and in our beautiful time together. The spaces are limited and filling so beautifully with exactly the women who are called to be together in this space.

Learn more about this gorgeous time we will spend together in April. If you are being called into this cabin in the woods, I can't wait to meet you, to hug you, to guide you and to feast with you. Set your intention to manifest this magical time.

(Photo credit Vivienne McMaster)

Magic. A reminder.

Beautiful Faces. Magical Places.

I am eager for the lists that make their way out on sleepy Friday mornings. Today I am a up at 4:30am so glad it isn't 3:00am again, must go to Trader Joe's for almond meal and chocolate, forgot to put laundry in for Chloe that I promised (luckily I'm up at 4:30am) and I'm going to make the pie today -you'll see- kind of mama.

These are my pay-it-forward lists.

This could be a fun way to look back and remember.

This inspires me to move, something that I just don't have naturally born within me. I want to move more.

I don't pause for a costume change either.

This jacket is soft as butter and for a HSP it is divine. I wore it all day long.

This was one of those wow posts. ~ via Tanya G.

Thank you to so many for how you give.

 The grain free recipe search commences. I haven't had stuffing in years.

 We do this. I was under the impression for years that making it yourself was hard, it isn't.

Oldie but goodie.

Making this Saturday for friends. I haven't had dinner guests in so long. Time to start again.

 This book. This life.

Suggested via FB for my kids who love to draw fantasy worlds. Waiting for Christmas. While praying for a Christmas that brings meaning, not stuff for the sake of stuff.

This is why I love the internet, community, connection. Donated.

***

This. This is happening. I'm going to tell you much more, for now, this.

Holiday bounty and my sweet friends.

With The Holiday Joy Up launched out into the world I am always humbled as the women start to gather together and form a community, a tribe, weeks before we even begin. Not everyone chooses to go through their days in group support, for some it is a chance to be quiet with their own thoughts and goals and dreams. I do love Soulwork in tribe though, there is something about going through an experience together that feels like magic.

We will be dancing in the magic together.

The Holiday Joy Up started as 10 days, as did all the Joy Ups (this was the video that started them all)! When it felt time to change things up the days were extended and now all of my programs are getting little make-overs to extend them so we have more time together and can travel together at a relaxed pace.

One woman said to me that at the end of December she will have had an email from me almost every morning for 3 months! I love this, showing up each morning with you and being part of the process of joy, change, heart-based purpose and learning more about who you are is my gorgeous life's work. I am truly grateful.

Please know that each joy up there are scholarships available if money is an issue for you in this moment. Women from past joy tribes who have gifted spots waiting for someone to fill them, if that is you, send an email to hello@hannahmarcotti.com to be matched up with a sponsor. One of the most magical parts is that often it is the women who started a joy up journey on scholarship are now gifting spots. The Joy Ups are that powerful, bringing us into places of abundance as we work through the tough stuff that brings us into our light.

My sweet friends are spreading their own magic.

I want to share with you some of the other Holiday offerings that some of my dearest friends have planned. I know that something on this list may resonate for you and be just what you were looking for in your own heart or for someone you love. I feel abundantly blessed to share their heart-based work with you. If you don't know these women you are in for a treat, pure delicious treat.

(Please note I am not an affiliate, just a loving friend to these women.)

Water your soul. ~ Liz Lamoreux

Wisdom Notes. ~ Rachel Cole

Santa Pause. ~ Kristin Noelle

30 Day Social Media Rehab. ~ Tiffany Han

Breathe Peace. ~ Jenn Gibson

New Mama Recharge. (In January) ~ Michelle Pfennighaus

In Community Grace we are doing some work around finding our feeling mantra. Mine is to feel inspired to create magic. Whether it is with my communities, the connections I make with clients, in my cozy family, with my book coach, long talks with my mastermind group, moments of clarity and joy from those I am deeply connected to, making space in my home and heart or simply as I sit down to write; I feel inspired to create magic.

Attaching my intentions with that feeling is what moves me forward, helps me dig deep into my own personal magic. I'll be sharing some stories from the Community Grace group as I know you will be as moved as I am by their personal grace.

Story Whispers ~ Abby Kerr

I often find myself eager for settling in with a cup of tea or glass of wine with women who I admire and hearing their story whispers. The magic inside of the words, the treat of the truth and that moment of 'yes, me too' are why we must keep sharing our stories.

Today I welcome Abby Kerr in all of her softness and word wisdom. Abby and I connected through Instagram and though we've yet to meet, having crossed paths this summer in Oregon, I'm looking forward to some time for more stories soon. Abby is the magic behind The Voice Bureau, which helps entrepreneurs show up in the online conversation. Click over and look at her gorgeous new website, it took my breath away when I saw it.

Abby and I share a love for words, beauty and showing up in grace. I am grateful to invite her to share her story whispers with you.

Take us through your gorgeous life in terms of your senses: touch, taste, smell, sight, sound and any others that you possess.

What inspires me: the touch of soft skin, FrenchBo fur, and as-yet-unmarked notebook paper; the taste of ripe avocados, tart marinara sauce, and Kombucha {not all in one dish!}; the smell of my own perfume, which makes me feel strong, feminine, and inspired {notes of bergamot, graperfruit, pink pepper, patchouli, & cedar}; the sight of leaves blanketing the streets of my neighborhood as I walk it -- hues of rust, fuschia, grapefruit, and saffron; the haunting, powerful strains of Brandi Carlile's "Bend Before It Breaks," a candle wick snapping, and the tap-tapping of my fingers as I write.

The moment you knew you had found your thing, the one that would propel you forward because you can’t not do it.

When I realized I could build my work in the world around supporting other entrepreneurs in developing their writing voices, it felt like the easiest and most deliciously selfish thing to do. Like a guilty pleasure. 'Selfish' has never been a word that's resonated as positive to me, but this felt like a righteous selfishness, like moving into my power and my point of grace. And at the same time, this work feels radically generous to me, as if I'm giving my very best from my most openhearted place.

Magical moments: what are they to you and how do you open to receiving them?

My magical moments are usually about sensing divine timing. Throughout my life, I've always seemed to discern when it's time to shift: sidestep, zoom forward, move back, throw on the brakes, run for it, jump the tracks. I listen for a go in my spirit and not until then do I take action. That's true for me whether it's about starting a relationship, buying a sweater, or launching a website.

Ritual that you start your day with.

These days, walking and feeding the dogs. We have a new puppy who has brought a lot of fun and playfulness into our lives.

Favorite part of your body, tell us why you love it.

My feet. From childhood through my teen years, I trained in classical ballet and performed with a pre-professional training company. I have dancer's feet. I think they're pretty -- nicely shaped toes, high arches, nice toenails -- but I have naturally rough, thick soles that crack easily. Not so sexy to hear described, but I own it. My feet have danced on wooden stages, walked me through airports on the way to my next big adventure, and regularly run into the furniture as I flit through my house on the way to record my next idea.

Favorite quote:

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

A mantra or affirmation that guides you:

I am loved and protected. All things work together for good.

Your guiding word/s for the year:

You know what to do, and how to do it. Allow effortless to be enough.

 

***

Abby Kerr helps entrepreneurs show up in the online conversation through brand voice development, holistic content strategy, and organic SEO copywriting. A former high school English teacher and U.S. award-winning indie lifestyle boutique owner, her favorite creative work centers on creating compelling emotional worlds. She's just relaunched her entire online brand presence, The Voice Bureau, at AbbyKerr.com. Outside {and sometimes inside} of business hours, she's a fierce home cook, a mom to two French Bulldog-Boston Terrier mixes, and an ardent Brandi Carlile fan.

The Holiday Joy Up 2012

Join us for Holiday Joy Up 2013 over here!!!!

When you dance in the magic something opens up inside and the desire for more joy, dreams and passion becomes the mission of the heart.

December 1st to the 22nd

As we approach the Holidays it is easy to lose focus on joy, we want magic and sparkly nights, not stress and fights! Pressures arise and we are faced with decisions to make and food indulgences on every table.

These 22 days are about connecting to daily gratitude, creating everyday magic, feeling filled with connection (rather than sugar), truthfulness, radiating love and that twinkle of inspiration for creating a season of joy.

Gratitude + Love + Magic = Holiday Joy

 22 days of holiday letters holding inside of them:

• Inspiration towards making more daily magical moments
• Reminders of what truly matters to us through holiday joy affirmations
• Gratitude makers - think noise makers full of gratitude - through soulwork assignments
  
• Recipes that make your taste buds joyful and your body gorgeous
  
• Daily sparkles, tingles, twinkles, fluttering...magic of the season

Reminders to dance in the magic of the season:

• Support from your joy tribe
• Inspirations for sharing the love of the season
• Twinkles of gratitude
• Joyful giving and receiving
  
• Gorgeous holiday living

Shifting into joy for the present moments:

• Feeling love for who we are now, yes, now
  
• Simple ways of showing love through the sharing and receiving of gifts and gestures
• Mindfulness and joy that come from the simple, ordinary tasks of our life
• Transforming the everyday into joyful holiday magic through Soulwork
  
• Fully being inside of the joy of the season

Magical guests contributing their sparkle and gratitude:

• Tanya Geisler
• Kelly Rae Roberts
• Kristin Noelle
• Alana Sheeren
• Bari Tessler

Recipes to connect you deeper to your health:

• Grain-free and mostly dairy free, like me!

Here is how we move into the magic:

• A letter each morning delivered to your email, like a daily gift of gratitude
• 22 days of inspiration
• A Facebook Joy Tribe Group to chat in, share inspiration, pictures and the magic of the season
• Watch your holiday joy start to sparkle as you dance in the magic
•  I celebrate Christmas but this is for celebrating the season, not a specific holiday
• Share the magic we will be dancing in, sign up with a soulsister
• $22.00 for 22 days
• Or join and gift to a soulsister for $38.00
• December 1st to the 22nd
  

I always smell joy and the excitement in the air, see it in the lights that start to sparkle and taste it in the homemade applesauce simmering away on the stove. This time together is about focusing on those special moments and making memories. Taking the stress and pressures and flipping them into gratitude, love and joy! Let's discover the magic of the twinkle together.

Here is my love note to you:

• I believe you are amazing
• I believe in you connecting to the special
• I believe in the magic of all you are
• I believe in you

 

"To feel that connection that exists between all of us, everywhere, is so refreshing and joyful." - Emily

"This time has been wonderful. I met Joy like an old friend coming back into my life. I am really enjoying the visit and hope that she stays." - Laura

"This has been the most precious of days ♥ !" - Stacy

"Thank you for these days, they will ripple into many more days to come." - Jenn

"Focusing on joy has allowed me to encourage and old friend and totally change the way I think about situations. I'm usually negative but these past days I have learned to speak the truth in my head out loud instead of letting the negative situations take over. It has been really amazing." - Rachel

Beautiful Faces. Magical Places.

I am eager for the lists that make their way out on sleepy Friday mornings. Today I am a make hot soup to simmer away on the stove early, make the bed, call back the potential babysitter, cross things off that funky list next to me by noon (yes, this is a challenge) and "mama please can we go to the playground before we pick up the big kids" kind of mama.

These are my pay-it-forward lists.

Jamie and Me. xo

Oh Pam, I love this. ~via Susannah C

Dream. Come. True.

I have not cross stitched since I was a little girl. I am so feeling like making a little basket and going back in.

Shame. Know this one? A beautiful sharing of the process of moving through, not pushing against.

This is how I plan my programs. All of it with sticky notes, right here. And then I spontaneously get things like this for my daughter, shhh!

Catching up on my reading. Blogs, just yes.

The storm has brought waves of emotion to us on the East Coast.

***

Catch up with my news from my world, Would they notice?

Monthly intentions. Or, walking with grace.

Found this on the top of my to-do list. My girl does appreciate a good party, she always has.

I give each month a name. Sometimes they are clever and other times just a word. They help me set a strong and feeling guided intention for my month. The work I'm guiding for the month will often match up to my personal monthly intention.

This month as I am walking with grace inside of a program that I'm adoring creating, I was sure that would be my monthly intention.

Never be sure. Always stay open. Grace will teach you this. As I am talking in my community often I find words that want to linger back to me. They won't be ignored.

Opening to Receiving.

This is November's intention. Strong and soft. And you?

Full moon fever.

I find myself desperate for words. To type them, search for them, or rather let them fall into place like flakes of snow piling onto one another.

A full moon fever has come to visit me, alternating between hot and cold, clammy and shivering. A strange place to be setting down words.

Today I finish a program with women who brought me to a new place of truth and belief in the simple, the ordinary. Taking out the complicated so we may return to what we know deep inside.

I don't use big words, I would have to look them up to find them. My memory holds onto so little.

I see words piling onto multiple pages and then my jaw clenches wondering where the time will be found for their arrival.

My back aches as I remember I feel in the physical sense when I'm working through to a new place, a new knowing or time. Or simply releasing what has been.

Full moon fever.

Words longing to find their way.

Tonight, they rest here.

This calm before.

Candles on the windowsills. Coffee in my mug. Turkey soup simmering away on the stove.

A view from above.

Last night we took a walk and I couldn't believe how bright the sky was. Since I was little I have loved storms, the sound of wind and rain and thunder can relax my energy which is normally extremely tight and tense. These last few days of this eery magical calm before the storm has kicked my anxiety up. Lying in bed at 4am with my mind racing like it used to after Eli was born. The boys running across the street and I can't get to them as the car is coming. Those thoughts that you want to wish away but can't control in the noise of your head.

This still happens.

The house feels so cozy, the smell of soup and the anticipation of wind and rain on its way. I opened up an email today from a woman thanking me for changing her life, helping her find herself. After courses and classes that she has tried, nothing had ever worked. Until now.

And that happens, expanding me. I am learning, slowly, to hold this truth.

My heart is full and excited for all that will be. After the storm, after the soup, after the new Lego set is built by candle light. (We'll just turn out the lights if we don't lose power!) The rhythm of nature, cycles of the moon, all of it; I believe that we can use the energy to go that one layer deeper into ourselves.

Every time I step my feet into the sand on a beach I feel layers shed. I feel at home. I feel peace.

Inside this calm I am guided towards preparation, flames flickering, blankets snuggling, looking ahead and being fully present. The calm teaching us to really be here, now, keeping time while watching the leaves float down.

***

(This post inspired by a conversation in Mamacoach Circle from the amazing Erin Goodman.)

Beautiful Faces. Magical Places.

(Writing this blog post, sipping that coffee, wearing something I made with my hands. Joy.)

I am eager for the lists that make their way out on sleepy Friday mornings. Today I am  a sinking into bed, creating things with my hands while sipping coffee, can't believe it is almost noon and I've got some deadlines to go play with kind of mama.

These are my pay-it-forward lists.

I love most things with sensitive in the title.

Let's just know this and really pay attention. And also believe that our world must start to change and that we are that change.

I have a huge crush on succulents.

Beautiful. Photography dreams I have.

Hello, mama will be going into the kitchen.

I wish I was in CA so I could be part of this magic.

Vivienne is rocking my world with everything she does and is.

Via Stefanie Renee on FB this beautiful kickstarter. Can you feel the energy around this one. Buy a gorgeously loving bag for yourself or a gift for someone you love and know that this is supporting real art.

I'm committed to talking more about healing our marriages and our own selves. This from Kelly, this will guide you.

I'm starting to make things again. I'll write about it soon, but for now, what she said. Gorgeousness from Andrea.

"Big heart love." Yes, that is Jenny. Her telling of truth is awe inspiring. I am blessed to have her on my team.

Speaking of awe, hello!!! Inspired, intimidated and admitting I think we have one printed picture of our third child in the house. I hung a frame up in the kitchen and it is still empty. He's four.

In nude. Just saying.

How we make this little thing called magic.

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.” ~ Roald Dahl

Here is your soulwork for today. Pick a word or a color or an object. Think about it, hold it inside your mind and your heart. Focus on it for at least 10 minutes in silence.

As you go through the next few days keep your camera or your iphone handy and take a picture every time you see the word, color or object. Watch how what you focus on and believe in shows up.

This is the first step to magic making. Focus and belief.

For added fun a hashtag on instagram #magicmaking if you want to share your magic. (Find me at @hannahmarcotti on Instagram.)

“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” ~ Terry Pratchett

I have two spots open for November Magic Making Sessions. If you are being called deeper into understanding yourself and your creative work life, let's make some magic together. xo

***

"Hannah Marcotti is my secret weapon.  As a mom & a coach, I was struggling a bit to find balance.  Hannah met me exactly where I was & guided me toward a healthier lifestyle.  Through her intuitive coaching style & her unique business savvy, I was able to completely take Soul Carrot to the next level!"

 http://www.soulcarrot.com

 

 

"I let go of three of the four services I was offering and wow, do I feel so much better!"

http://sagelifeconsulting.com/

Essay from the bathroom.

Connection to home is my form of balance. When I'm off scrubbing the bathroom it will slowly rock me back into rhythm. My friend calls doing such things 'making home.' Gorgeous, yes?

I have the moment where I still can't believe we have lived here almost 8 years and still have the baby blue sink, one of the first things I dreamt of changing. I scrub it with a magic eraser every few months to wash off the scum from five bodies sharing one tiny bathroom. And it glows. When I was a child I loved cleaning the bathroom sinks. I used that powered comet and I loved seeing it go from scummy to clean under my hands.

My mind comes to life. Ideas flow, lists that only a right-brained, highly sensitive would understand start to form; which means a list that will be forgotten too. I write in my mind as I scrub. On my hands and knees, grateful for having paper towels (rare in this house) so I don't have to use a hundred little cleaning towels. I'm sure I'll remember the words later. I'm always sure. It is sometimes as though I haven't been introduced to parts of myself.

No, I won't really remember I later remember.

I remember being pregnant on these same hands and knees which now feel almost like a different body, scrubbing this space for the first time. I am a mama of three kids now. This house is full. We use so much toilet paper now. I have two boys; did I ever think I would have two boys?

Stepping into the shower to use my own power to wipe the walls and clear the stains, more memories; the shower I would stand in after Eli was born and relive his birth, every time, every shower. My voice screaming. Then remembering he is safe. Still the child I worry about the most, the one my body can almost feel every time he is hurt, connected somehow deep in our senses.

The bathroom felt bigger 8 years ago. My life was tinier. There are seven toothbrushes I count as I wipe off the shelves. Toothpaste and fingerprints on the walls.

I imagine stretching it out, first the bathroom and then my visions of my life. My dreams. How can I expand this bathroom? How can I expand my path.

The match strikes and I light the candle. Every sparkling bathroom must end with the flicker of a candle smelling of frankincense or sandalwood or jasmine.

The sink is still blue.

We are still here.

Somehow I am bigger now.

Exhaling the truth.

You may not believe me when I say my mornings are really tough until you realize that I wake up just like you. I have three kids under 10 and if you have children you may understand waking up to more expectations of you then you feel capable of meeting. Yes, there are giggles and there is joy but it is hard work. Often exhausting.

And I wonder where I fit into that puzzle. I wonder where my marriage fits into all of it. Maybe you wonder too.

Recently Patrick spent the week at home with me and I realized how deeply, deeply I miss him. Our lives are so separate from what were once lives in constant rhythm.

And I wonder how to heal that now, not in 5 years when the kids are older. Maybe you wonder too.

You may think that the me you see here, in these spaces is me until you realize I am just like you, everyone of us who have online personalities are more than what we ever show here. This is our persona, no matter how hard we try to bring you the truth, it will always be limited.

And I wonder how to align the different parts of myself, so that there is less of a gap between the me that shows up here and the me that lives in real time. Maybe you wonder too.

You may think I have patience and never eat just a small bag of potato chips I grabbed at the gas station for lunch until you realize that we all have so many unseen unspoken moments. We are going at a pace towards the change we long for and sometimes baked lays just taste so freaking good when we are too tired to make a salad.

And I wonder what it would be like if we could share more of those moments and start to bridge the gaps of perception and reality. Maybe you wonder too.

You may think you see me. I may think I see you.

And we do. We see pieces of each other. Part of the work we are doing is learning how to fit these pieces together, make them flow together even when they don't fit. Even when they make us angry or wanting to be something entirely transformed.

What I love about this life is that at any moment I can change. I can make a choice to feel differently. I can drop the anger. I can find new words. I can cut my hair or grow it longer than its ever been. I can wear feathers, get a tattoo, sell everything I own and move across the country. Somehow. There is always the somehow. There is always a way to change, to choose, to grow, to evolve.

And I wonder if you feel the gap closing in your own world and if you can see me more clearly each time we exhale the truth.

The way I see community.

Four years ago I was a stay at home mama, pregnant with my third baby, wondering what more there was for me. I felt lost. I knew that I had something special to give this world. I had tried so many careers and I couldn't make anything stick. What I felt deep down was that I wanted something that was mine, that I could control, design, create, develop.

I wanted to tap into my gifts, my light.

Four years later I have a business that is flowing in abundance, beauty and grace. I also have a new budding business with a most amazing woman and a circle of women who believe in each other. I haven't been 'lucky' (though I'll take any luck that wants to flow my way). I've been working hard, doing the beautiful work; creating connection, building community and trying to show up with a combination of truth and grace.

Somewhere along the line I fell in love with the joy of building community around my work. Partly it came intuitively for me and the rest I had to learn. I combined reading, studying and a whole lot of playing around to see what worked and what didn't work.

Our community is not me talking/writing and you just listening. It is also me listening and hearing you back. It is the flow of our energy and the sharing of our gifts together. I set the table and you bring the wine. Community is shared purpose, goals and explorations. The communities I am part of are warm and cozy, sunshine through the windows warming us when we need it most, lifting and truth telling. Lots of truth telling.

Community Grace is a way to play with community building and creating connections to bring energy behind your words and offerings. Gathering those around you that you want to talk and share with and those that you learn from and could listen to for hours as they share their stories or guidance with you.

What I know is that our words are powerful, our story is where we connect. We make choices in how to use our words to connect, to grow, to show up. There is no formula and once you realize that you can fully step into your light and start to use your words to gather energy around you and your work.

Your community is forming, they are a vibrant gorgeous community, ready to spread out the picnic blanket, uncork the wine, serve the food while the music is played and come together inside of your own special magic.

What will you bring? How will you share? What passion do you bring to this community table? How do you show up as you, in your truth and flowing with your passions?

Gathering is ceremony, celebration. Knowing your own special gift, voice and compassion and setting them free sets you free.

We all have a story to be told. We have a community to gather with. We have joy unfolding before us, compassion spilling.

And so we continue. We build. We play.

***

Learn more about Community Grace, my group program for November.

In real time. The giveaway that became my gift.

What started as a giveaway became story whispers from women in my community. I want to have 105 Malas around my neck to give to each one of the women who shared a piece of their story or offered encouragement or just said thank you. To me. Sometimes I still have to pinch myself. I hope that those of you who joined Spirits of Joy are holding onto it, wearing it, in just the way you might if I could send you each a beautiful Mala. You each touched my heart so deeply. So truthfully.

 Here are some of the whispers:::

Hannah…the pure way in which you express your passion for your family, your work and life is beautiful. Although our paths crossed only a few days ago through your kind offer of Spirits of Joy, I feel honored to know you. What you have created is magical and I’m proud and grateful to be a part of it. I own a Mala, gifted by a treasured friend, so I’m not posting here hoping to be a recipient of your kind offer, but to simply express my gratitude for the gift that is you! I’m certain your Mala already knows where it needs to go next.

Your lovely gesture- and all the beautiful comments that follow- are making me cry. I am so, so happy that 600 women are blessed to experience what I felt in that sweet little office space on Wayland. That Awakening Mala looks beautiful on you, friend.

I love the idea of this ‘give away’ as to me, it feels really special, as it has been so important for you and your family: as a symbol and as a part of daily rituals, which add so much to how we experience our daily lives.

Hannah, the short answer is yes! your Mala speaks to me. Shouts to me. At times, whispers intimately in my ear. Only really because it is yours, and you speak to me.

Weeping here. Hard. I’m telling you that I think that gratitude and gifting is The Answer. I feel like you have just lifted another veil for me. There's so much pain and dis-ease in grasping and holding expectations and “I’m owed that-ness“, and its just so hard to let go of because I’m scared. You, know?

This is such a beautiful outpouring of generosity, Hannah, cocooned inside that deep knowing you always seem to possess of when it’s time to shift the energy. As I learn to be still in my own life and to claim those blessings that manifest themselves in my everyday, I am so glad to have you as one of my “spirit guides in human form.” Thank you.

I sit here crying not only at your generosity…but also because I too am on a similar path…one speckled with obstacles at nearly every turn, and yet, I am trying to find the message in this journey, instead of being defeated by it. I have spent years wishing and hoping, and am now moving on to embrace those dreams you talk about.

***

The only word that keeps coming to mind is humbled. Every time I think it is about me giving I am given an opportunity to practice receiving in deeper ways. From my monkey mind saying, um, who would want a Mala that has been yours, to moving into the truth that this community that has gathered around is full of such love, truth and (here is my lesson) gratitude for this space and this work.

I breathe it in. I am in the truth of this. In real time.

As I have been wanting to launch a program all about community but talking myself out of it at every turn, who shows up to reinforce my work? My beautiful community. You. And you. And yes, you.

I read every comment multiple times and felt all of you, with me, infusing your stories into this Mala.

Christina W. writes, "Ahhh, just reading this post now and all the comments of Joy. As I sit already in a seat of gratitude from you, my smile is big thinking of what a wonderful gesture of spirit this is, moving through you to another. May the receiver be open to all its gifts and may your imprint be passed on through all wearers in the future chain. love. xo"

The Mala will be going to visit Christina on its next stop in this chain. It will carry a story, all of these story whispers. And a new story will start.

And we can all hold onto this mantra of receiving, this is what I am learning how to do, be truly open to all of the gifts when we learn how to accept as gracefully as we can give. Amen to that.

May the receiver be open to all its gifts.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I am so honored you are here.